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foraging fun

17°C is a little bit on the warm side for the middle of April, but I am certainly not about to complain, especially after enduring my first winter here in southern Manitoba. The winters here are as real and as long as I would ideally like to subject myself to, considering I hail from Canada’s deep south where the last few winters have been more akin to Vancouver than is typical for southern Ontario. But at long last, with the onset of warm days and cool nights, the first fresh green leaves of the year are emerging. (more…)

If you are like me and enjoy (or rather crave) the euphoric satisfaction of confidently identifying a plant, mushroom, or any other organism for that matter, then I’m sure that you can relate and offer your sympathy for when the exact opposite happens. Sometimes, due to no fault of your own, your seemingly careful and thorough research leads you further and further astray, coaxing you instead through a labyrinth of overwhelmingly complicated and outdated taxonomic literature that few sane amateur mycologists wish to trouble themselves with. Allow me to introduce you to Boletus subvelutipes. (more…)

Continuing on the theme of long overdue posts (referring to my previous post discussing hemlock reishi, Ganoderma tsugae), my surprise encounter in late May of 2016 with an extensive patch of Agaricus bitorquis was probably one of the most fruitful foraging adventures of that whole year. I was nearly in hysterics after discovering these hefty beasts discretely heaving themselves up and through mounds of wood chips. I couldn’t keep it together for quite a while thereafter, as I still have a problem with getting way too excited about these sorts of things. (more…)